According to Swedenborg, a person's name in the Bible represents his or her entire spiritual nature, their whole state of love (good or evil) and thought (from heavenly wisdom to infernal insanity). This is why the name of the Lord is so important; it represents and embodies His perfect love and perfect wisdom, which is everything that we should worship and follow. It's easy to see that names are important in the Bible. Jehovah changed Abram and Sarai to Abraham and Sarah, changed Jacob to Israel and included in the Ten Commandments the order that believers "shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." In the New Testament, Zacharias was told to name John the Baptist "John," and both Joseph (Matthew 1:21) and Mary (Luke 1:31) were told to name Jesus "Jesus." Jesus himself renamed Simon as Peter, and included the phrase "hallowed be thy name" in the Lord's prayer.

(Notae: Luke 1)

1791. 'Abram said, O Lord Jehovih' means the Lord's perception. This becomes clear from the fact that the Lord had the inmost and most perfect perception of all. As stated already, this perception was a perceptive feeling and awareness of all that was happening in heaven; it was also a constant communication and internal conversing with Jehovah, which the Lord alone had. This perception is what is meant in the internal sense by the statement 'Abram said to Jehovah', and thus is what was represented by Abram when he addressed Jehovah. The same applies in what follows whenever the expression 'Abram said to Jehovah' occurs.